U.S. patent number 3,955,670 [Application Number 05/577,611] was granted by the patent office on 1976-05-11 for preservation of paint brush.
Invention is credited to David Buslik.
United States Patent |
3,955,670 |
Buslik |
May 11, 1976 |
Preservation of paint brush
Abstract
A paint brush holder for use in preserving a paint brush after
it has been used. The holder includes a lid capable of tightly
fitting a can, such as a fruit juice can or a quart or gallon oil
can, which is customarily discarded in normal household practice.
The lid has an opening capable of accommodating the handles of
brushes of different sizes. Across the opening, there is freely
supported a generally U-shaped spring capable of engaging the
handle of a brush and holding the brush suspended from the lid in a
paint solvent in the can. The opening around the brush is sealed by
a tape penetrated by the handle. The brush is suspended with the
lower ends of its bristles above the base of the can. There is also
disclosed apparatus for preserving a paint brush including a can
with a paint solvent and an emulsifier, to aid in cleaning a brush
for permanent or very long-time storage such as periods of many
months or years, having a lid as disclosed above.
Inventors: |
Buslik; David (Youngstown,
OH) |
Family
ID: |
24309450 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/577,611 |
Filed: |
May 14, 1975 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/15.3;
206/209 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A46B
17/06 (20130101); B44D 3/006 (20130101); A46B
2200/202 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A46B
17/06 (20060101); A46B 17/00 (20060101); B44D
3/00 (20060101); A45D 044/18 (); B65D 081/24 () |
Field of
Search: |
;206/205,209,361,362.3,15.2,15.3 ;215/228 ;220/90 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lipman; Steven E.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Diamond; Hymen
Claims
I claim:
1. For use in preserving a paint brush while it is stored after it
has been used, a paint brush holder including a lid tightly fitting
a can which in customary household practice is discarded, said lid
having an opening accommodating the handle of one of a number of
brushes of the different sizes normally encountered, a spring
engaging said handle of said brush and suspending said brush from
the lid through said opening, said spring being of a dimension
exceeding a cross-sectional dimension of said opening and being
freely suspended over said opening on the surface of said cover,
physically unattached to said cover, and adhesive tape adhered to
the handle of said brush and to said cover sealing the portion of
said opening about said handle.
2. The holder of claim 1 wherein the lid is a plastic lid.
3. The holder of claim 1 wherein the spring is of generally U-shape
with its legs spaced, at least in a region thereof, a short
distance so that the said brush is resiliently engaged and held
near said region between said legs.
4. Apparatus for preserving a paint brush including a can which in
customary household practice is discarded, a paint solvent within
said can, a lid tightly fitting said can, said lid having an
opening capable of accommodating the handles of brushes of
different sizes, means supported by the portion of said lid
bounding said opening for suspending a brush of said different
sizes by its handle with the bristles of said brush extending into
said solvent with their lower tips above the base of said can, said
suspending means including a spring freely disposed on the surface
of said lid physically unattached to said lid and resiliently
engaging said handle and holding said brush in suspended position
as aforesaid, and adhesive tape adhered to said handle and to said
surface for sealing said opening about said handle.
5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the paint solvent includes an
emulsifier.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the preservation of paint brushes, and
has particular relationship to the preservation of paint brushes
for future use after they have been used and the bristles are
impregnated with paint.
Since good paint brushes are relatively costly, it is desirable
that after a brush has been used, it be preserved in condition to
be reused months or even years later. For appropriate preservation,
it is necessary, not only that the bulk of the paint be removed
from the bristles, but that the removal of paint be substantially
complete. The cleaning of the last trace of paint from the bristles
is a time-consuming, dirty, tedious and somewhat harmful task
involving kneading, hand manipulating and scrubbing in solvents
which are harmful to the skin and costly in the quantities
demanded. Many, if not all, of the solvents used for this purpose
evolve vapors of varying degree of toxicity which are impossible to
void inhaling while working with these solvents. A thorough
cleaning in soapy water is also recommended. However, this cleaning
must take place immediately after the painting job, and the average
user finds it disagreeable and difficult to expend the necessary
energy at that time.
A common practice which is followed because its cost is low is to
insert the brush in an open can of solvent with its bristles
engaging the base of the can. The brush is left in this condition
in the can until its next use. In this practice, when, as is usual,
the interval between uses of the brush is relatively long, the
solvent evaporates and the bristles of the brush become matted
together to form a hard cake and are bent and a new brush is
required.
In accordance with the teachings of the prior art, there are also
brush keepers. However, these keepers are costly, and brushes of
different sizes require different keepers. The common practice is
to sacrifice the brushes rather than to buy keepers. Indeed there
appears to be no economical and reliable facility for preserving
paint brushes available, suitable for the average householder.
Quoting Modern Chemical Specialties, Milton A. Lesser, MacNair
Dorland Company, New York, 1950, "There are probably few articles
purchased for the average householder in which there has been
greater waste than in the case of paint brushes."
It is an object of this invention to overcome the disadvantages of
the prior art, and to provide apparatus of low cost for preserving
paint brushes which shall effectively clean and preserve the
brushes, and shall accommodate in a single unit brushes of a wide
range of sizes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention arises from the realization that cans usually of
tin-plated steel of various sizes which could accommodate brushes
of many sizes and of generally standardized dimensions are
available in households. Typical are fruit juice cans, coffee cans,
oil cans and the like. It is customary that once the product in a
can is consumed, the can is discarded. It has been realized that
these cans can serve as paint-brush keepers.
In accordance with this invention, a tight-fitting lid, typically
of plastic, is provided for these cans. This lid has an opening of
dimensions capable of accommodating the handles of a wide range of
sizes of brushes. The can selected for use with any lid is tall
enough and of large enough diameter to enable the bristles of the
brushes accommodated to be immersed in the solvent without engaging
the base of the can. Means is provided for engaging and holding the
handle of the brush firmly suspending the brush in the solvent.
This means is advantgeously a spring which lies freely on the lid
spanning the opening. Other means are magnets, velcro, a wire
secured to a standard or the like. However, the freely disposed
spring is to be preferred to this latter means because of its
simplicity and low cost. The hole in the lid is sealed by Scotch
tape or masking tape or any self-adhesive tape, through which the
handle of the brush penetrates. The open region of the hold about
the brush can also be stuffed with cotton, plastic foam or the
like. It has been found that in an interval of 21/2 months, an open
can lost 156 grams of 336 grams of solvent, while a can sealed with
tape in accordance with this invention lost only 9 grams of 336
grams of solvent.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
For a better understanding of this invention, both as to its
organization and as to its method of operation, together with
additional objects and advantages thereof, reference is made to the
following description, taken in connection with the accompanying
drawing, in which:
FIG. 1 is a plan view partly in section of a lid in accordance with
the invention; and
FIG. 2 is a view in longitudinal section showing preserving
apparatus in accordance with the invention including a lid as shown
in FIG. 1.
cl DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
The apparatus shown in the drawing includes a lid 11, typically of
plastic, having a top 13 and a rim 15. The lid 11 is dimensioned to
fit tightly over cans, such as the can 17, which contain consumable
commodities and are customarily discarded when the commodity is
consumed, with the rim 15 tightly hugging the upper rim of the can
17. Such cans 17 have generally standard dimensions so that a few
lids 11 of limited different dimensions need be provided.
In the top 13 of the lid 11, there is an opening 19 capable of
accomodating the handles of paint brushes of widely different
dimensions. A handle 21 of a typical brush 23 extends through the
opening 19. There is a region of the opening 19 around the handle
21 which is open. The brush 23 is held by a generally U-shaped
spring or spring clip 24, which spans the opening 19 and lies
freely on the top 13. The spring 24 has projections 26 in both
arms; which are spaced from each other a short distance such that
handles 21 of different size brushes 23 are firmly engaged and the
brushes 23 firmly held. The spring, for suspending the brushes,
should be of sufficient diameter or cross-sectional dimension,
elastic strength and limit to provide for suspending the brush by
its resiliency, but of low enough elastic limit to be deformable to
fit brushes of somewhat smaller or larger dimensions than those for
which the spring is initially set.
The opening 19 is sealed by an adhesive tape 31 which extends over
the opening and the spring 24 and is penetrated by the handle 21.
The adhesive 33 of the tape secures the tape 31 to the lid around
the opening 19 and around the brush handle 21.
The can 17 contains a paint solvent or paint thinner or paint
softener 35, such as turpentine or an aromatic hydrocarbon oil.
Since the opening 19 in this lid is sealed to suppress escape of
vapor, the solvent may also be a volatile and somewhat toxic
material, such as benzol or methylene chloride. An emulsifier, such
as the reaction products of monyl phenol and ethylene oxide may be
added to the solvent.
Emulsifiers have been added to paint solvents, but the long time
required for the emulsifier to be dissolved or incorporated in the
thick paint on the bristles is a drawback to their efficient use.
Manipulation of the brush in the emulsifier-solvent solution
assists in the incorporation, but is difficult, unpleasant and to
some unhealthy because of evolved vapors and skin penetration. The
long contact time (without harmful side-effects such as
evaporation, bristle bending) permitted by this invention allows
sufficient time to get the full benefit of the usefulness of
emulsifiers in cleaning paint brushes.
The same advantages apply to the use of the most efficient paint
brush softeners for recovering hardened, ruined paint brushes as
the most efficient solvents, such as methylene chloride, are
usually very volatile, somewhat toxic and difficult and unpleasant
to work with in the home.
A solid emulsifier (for economy in providing small packages to the
householder) soluble in paint solvents may be used. An example of
such an emulsifier in Nopalcol 4-S of the Diamond Shamrock Chemical
Company and its chemical designation is polyethylene glycol 400
mono stearate.
The spring 24 holds the brush so that its bristles 37 are above the
base 39 of the can 17. By the use of the lid 11 according to this
invention and a can available in all households paint brushes can
be preserved for long intervals at low cost. For the householder
who uses many brushes or the professional painter, there are
available, frequently used, suitable, larger cans such as the
larger size coffee or fat cans which can be similarly used to hold
several brushes at one time.
While an embodiment of this invention has been disclosed herein,
many modifications thereof are feasible. This invention is not to
be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the spirit of
the prior art.
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